Feeding device for sewing machines



June 1954 L. SCHWARTZ FEEDING DEVICE FOR SEWING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 15, 1951 INVENTOR. Z50 Jam 4am June 1954 L. SCHWARTZ FEEDING DEVICE FOR SEWING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 15, 1951 INVENTOR [0 .ScHW/nerz Patented June 1, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FEEDING DEVICE FOR SEWING MACHINES Leo Schwartz, New York, N. Y.

Application March 15, 1951, Serial No. 215,837

Claims.

The present invention is directed to an apparatus for feeding textile material to a sewing machine and more particularly is directed to thin sheet plastic material which is capable of being stitched.

Recently it has become customary in the needles industry to utilize some of the newly developed plastics in sheet form in order to fabricate various articles. Such articles were usually combinations of woven or other textile fabric and the thin sheet material and sometimes the plastic material itself was fabricated by sewing. This material is marketed in rolls and such rolls are mounted on a sewing machine with the feed from the rolls going to the sewing mechanism. However, it has been found that often difficulty arises in stripping the material from the roll as there is a tendency of the layers to adhere to each other. As a result, tearing or other damage to the sheet material occurred, which slowed up the operation and caused unnecessary labor on the part of the operator. Often a machine had to be stopped for a substantial length of time in order to remove damaged sheet material and to start the operation again.

The present invention is intended and adapted to overcome the difficulties and disadvantages inherent in devices of the type described, it being among the objects of the present invention to provide an apparatus which will be capable of smoothly and continuously feeding thin sheet material from a roll to a sewing machine.

It is also among the objects of the present invention to provide a device in which the rate of feed may be readily controlled and may be varied at will.

It is further among the objects of the present invention to provide a device which is simple in construction, effective in operation, which is inexpensive and which requires practically no attention or repair.

In practicing the present invention there is provided a spindle of special construction which is capable of holding a roll of the sheet material in a flexible manner so as to permit feeding thereof in a regulated and controlled manner.

There is also provided a shaft which is substantially parallel to the spindle with means for rotating the shaft from the main shaft of the sewing machine. roller, the surface of which is roughened, preferably longitudinally. The roller has a series of spaces and a pressure roll is adapted to operate therewith to feed the sheet material over the roller. Means are provided for varying the ten sion of the pressure roll on the sheet material and also for removing the pressure roll from contact with the material.

In the accompanying drawing constituting a part hereof and in which like reference characters indicate like parts,

The shaft is provided with a Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a device made in accordance with the present invention, some parts being shown diagrammatically;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view thereof, some parts being broken away and some parts being shown diagrammatically;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view thereof, and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 44 of Fig. 1, showing the pressure roll in inoperative position.

The device is mounted on the bed I of a sewing machine. Preferably it is at the side of the machine adjacent to the driving pulley of the main shaft thereof and on the side opposite to the needle.

Extended upwardly from bed I is rod 2 carrying arm 3 which is held in adjusted position on the rod by set screw 3. In a horizontal opening 5 in arm 3 is spindle 5 which is held in adjusted position by set screw 6. At the forward end of spindle 5 is a collar 7 held by set screw 8. A roll 9 is mounted for rotation on the front end of spindle 5 and a coil spring II operating between collar I and the roll holds the latter against free rotation. A wire I I on the face of roll 9 is secured by screws I2 and I3 at the ends thereof. The wire acts as a means for holding a roll of sheet material in frictional engagement with roll 9 to prevent independent rotation of the sheet material.

A pair of standards I i and I5 have a plate I6 mounted thereon and held by bolts I'I. Upstanding blocks I8 and I9 are mounted on plate I6 at opposite ends thereof.

Shaft 20 is mounted in suitable bearings in blocks I8 and I9 and it extends forwardly of block I9. Gear 2I is secured to the rear end of shaft 28 and meshes with a pinion 22 mounted on stub shaft 23 held in block I8. It carries grooved pulley 2 Guard 25, shown only in part, is held over the rotating elements by set screws 25 and 25 extending through openings in said guard.

Mounted on block I8 is a pair of grooved pulieys 2'! and 21 angularly placed as shown more particularly in Fig. 2. Belt 28 passes around pulley 24, pulleys 21 and 21" and then over pulley 29 mounted on the main shaft 39 of the sewing ma chine shown partly at 30'.

Mounted on the forward end of shaft 26 in front of block I9 is a roller 3I. It has three steps designated. by numerals 32, 33 and 34 of slightly different diameters and it is provided with a series of relatively shallow longitudinal grooves. The purpose thereof is to adequately grip the sheet material without injury thereto and to feed it to the sewing machine without damage or wrinkling. Pressure roll 35 is mounted on rod 35" suitably held by set screws in arm 36. The position of pressure roll 35 may be shifted so that it contacts with any desired one of the steps of roller 31 and thus to control the rate of feed of the sheet material.

Arm 36 is mounted for oscillation by the provision at the right hand end 31 thereof of a pin 38 mounted in upstanding yoke 39, extending from block I9. Rod 40 passing through an opening in arm 36 is anchored in block 19. The upper end thereof is threaded and adjustable nut 4| is held at said upper end. Coil spring 42 operates between nut 4| and the top of arm 36, tending to bias the same downwardly.

Disk 43 is eccentrically mounted on the left hand end of arm 36 by pin 44 passing through the forked end of said arm. Angular rod 45 is anchored in disk 43 and has a ball or handle 46 at the free end thereof so that the cam disk 43 may be manipulated by hand.

Said disk is held in contact with the head 4'! of a bolt 43 which is mounted on the top of block I9. By manipulation of bolt 48, the position of arm 36 may be varied and thus the position of pressure roll 35 may be adjusted relative to roller 31. This is for the purpose of compensating for different thicknesses of-sheet material being fed.

In operation, a roll of sheet plastic material held on a suitable core, is slipped over the end of roll 9. Wire ll insures frictional engagement between the core and the roller, while spring I prevents free rotation thereof by applying tension thereon. The end of the material is pulled over roller SI and handle 46 is pushed down as shown in Fig. 3, so that pressure roll 35 contacts said material. The pressure thereon by spring 42 gives adequate frictional engagement with the roughened surface of roller 3!. The material then passes under bar 49 of the fabric guide and is folded over bar '53, as shown by arrow It then passes under presser foot 52 into the path of needle 53.

Although the invention has been described with a single embodiment thereof, various changes in the details may be made within the scope of the invention. For instance, the arrangement of pulleys and gears for driving the mechanism may be replaced by other equivalent means. The shapes and positions of the several elements may be altered, and several parts may be made as units. These and other changes may be made within the spirit of the invention which is defined by the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a sewing machine having a bed and sewing instrumentalities including a needle, the improvement which comprises a shaft mounted for rotation on said bed, said shaft being parallel and above said bed, a roller mounted on one end of said shaft, a rod parallel to said shaft, a pressure roll on said rod and adapted to contact said roller, an arm having one end mounted on a pin for oscillation on an axis parallel to said shaft, said rod being fixed to said arm, a spring bearing on said arm for biasing said pressure roll toward said roller, a cam mounted on the free end of said arm, a stop onto which said cam is biased by said spring, and means for rotating said cam.

2. In a sewing machine having a bed and sewing instrumentalities including a needle, the improvement which comprises a shaft mounted for rotation on said bed, said shaft being parallel and above said bed, a roller mounted on one end of said shaft, a rod parallel to said shaft, a pressure roll on said rod and adapted to contact said roller, an arm having one end mounted on a pin for oscillation on an axis parallel to said shaft, said rod being fixed to said arm, a spring bearing on said arm for biasing said pressure roll toward said roller, a spindle parallel to said shaft and a roll adapted to hold a spool of sheet material on said spindle, a cam mounted on the free end of said arm, a stop onto which said cam is biased by said spring, and means for rotating said cam.

3. In a sewing machine having a bed and sewing instrumentalities including a needle, the improvement which comprises a shaft mounted for rotation on said bed, said shaft being parallel and above said bed, a roller mounted on one end of said shaft, a rod parallel to said shaft, a pressure roll on said rod and adapted to contact said roller, said roller having a plurality of steps and said pressure roll being of a width less than each step, an arm having one end mounted on a pin for oscillation on an axis parallel to said shaft, said rod being fixed to said arm, a spring bearing on said arm for biasing said pressure roll toward said roller, a cam mounted on the free end of said arm, a stop onto which said cam is biased by said spring, and means for rotating said cam.

4. In a sewing machine having a bed and sewing instrumentalities including a needle, the improvement which comprises a shaft mounted for rotation on said bed, said shaft being parallel and above said bed, a roller mounted on one end of said shaft, a rod parallel to said shaft, a pressure roll on said rod and adapted to contact said roller, said roller being of greater width than said pressure roll, the latter being shiftable on said rod, an arm having one end mounted on a pin for oscillation on an axis parallel to said shaft, said rod being fixed to said arm, a spring bearing on said arm for biasing said pressure roll toward said roller, a cam mounted on the free end of said arm, a stop onto which said cam is biased by said spring, and means for rotating said cam.

5. In a sewing machine having a bed and sewing instrumentalities including a needle, the improvement which comprises a shaft mounted for rotation on said bed, said shaft being parallel and above said bed, a roller mounted on one end of said shaft, a rod parallel to said shaft, a pressure roll on said rod and adapted to contact said roller, an arm having one end mounted on a pin for oscillation on an axis parallel to said shaft, said rod being fixed to said arm, a spring bearing on said arm for biasing said pressure roll toward said roller, a cam mounted on the free end of said arm, a stop onto which said cam is biased by said spring, and means for rotating said cam, a folder at the front of said machine in alinement with said roller and roll, said folder having a bar at an angle'to the direction of move ment of sheet material passing through said roller and roll to change said direction.

References Cited in the file of thi patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 454,317 Wheeler June 16, 1891 1,114,478 Ibarra Oct. 20, 1914 1,244,708 Crowell Oct. 30, 1917 1,406,984 Horton Feb. 21, 1922 1,673,270 Schulz et al June 12, 1928 1,771,260 Langstrom July 22, 1930 1,835,479 Faunce Dec. 8, 1931 1,844,820 Morey Feb. 9, 1932 1,862,405 Johnson June 7, 1932 1,884,783 Marcalus Oct. 25, 1932 1,980,603 Webb Nov. 13, 1934 2,195,603 Steiner Apr. 2, 1940 

